New Beginnings
by Tiny-Breegull
Summary: Six months have passed since Yozora suddenly left the Neighbours Club. Without a third, the triangle becomes a pair, and Kodaka and Sena explore new paths for a relationship, the search for friends, and primitive urges. Will this be a new beginning, or will the misfit members of the Neighbours Club fall to disillusion?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! Hope you enjoy this little concoction I'll be stirring up. Been sitting on this one for a while. It'll probably start a little slow, but I have the feeling it'll get a little lemony in some sections. That'll be fun. If you like what you read, please feel free to leave a review. Every little thing helps.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

The yellow phone closed with a sharp snap, only to be opened up again immediately before being followed with another snap. Kodaka Hasegawa's fingers had been exercising their strength with that same repetitive motion for a consistent forty-five minutes, as he sat sprawled lazily over the clubroom's lounge. Cheerful pings buzzed around the Neighbour's Club as his blonde club mate Sena Kashiwazaki shot glittering bullets of love at her digital friends with marksman-like precision, while Rika Shiguma, with all of her intellectual prowess, sat giggling at the table with her nose buried in a mecha manga and squirming her thighs together without subtlety. Yukimura Kusonoki busied herself with preparing sweet cups of tea for the four of them, navy butler uniform in pristine condition as she then handed out tea cups around the clubroom.

'Aniki, are my services not to your satisfaction?' Yukimura questioned, as she held out a steaming teacup which roused him from his stupor.

'Hmm? Oh no, not at all. It's nothing.' Kodaka bumbled, taking the cup from the copper-haired butler with a gratuitous smile. 'Just lost in my own thoughts I guess.'

'You've been fussing with your phone for hours, Kodaka,' piped up Sena, never taking her eyes off of the television screen. 'It's almost like you're expecting something with it.'

'I've just been checking the time is all,' Kodaka lied weakly, his dulcet tones falling into the cup as he busied himself with a mouthful of the hot liquid. Yukimura never ceased to maintain a perfect temperature, so it was cool enough to take heartily without scalding his throat in the process. The truth was, Kodaka held on to a vain hope that their club's founder and his childhood friend, Yozora Mikazuki, would message him from wherever she had run to, and tell him that she was coming back soon. Six months had passed since the Neighbour's Club had been notified of Yozora's leaving, and not one of them had heard any response from her, although Kodaka often tried in vain to hear from her once again. Like clockwork, he would send her a message detailing the week the Neighbour's Club had been through, but it was mostly just a quiet room where each of them were left to their own devices. He would always sign off that everyone felt that the weight of her disappearance left them all a little hollow inside, but it wasn't enough to spur a response from their raven-haired leader. At times, he thought about giving up on his fruitless attempts at contact, but something would stir inside of him and force him to persevere; ten years ago he disappeared from her life without warning, and this time he was determined to prevent the same from happening again.

'You know senpai, you don't have to lie to us,' Rika mused, turning away from her book to face him with those hazelnut eye of hers with a sweet smile. 'She'll come back when she's ready.'

Kodaka met Rika's eyes with his own, and let a small smile tug at the corners of his mouth. He should have known better than to think that he'd get away with something without Rika noticing; after all, she and him had become closer friends in the passing months, and very little went over her head.

'I suppose you're right,' Kodaka said with a sigh. 'But doesn't it all seem a little dull these days? We hardly ever try to do new activities together.'

'That's true Aniki,' Yukimura replied, wiping her hands on a white cloth napkin and folding it over her arm. 'What exactly should we do though?'

Kodaka tried to say something, but had drawn a blank. Truthfully, he wasn't exactly the mastermind of plans, and hoped someone else would come up with something.

'Well, I uh...' he stammered, scratching his head with his index finger sheepishly. 'I'm not entirely sure what to do. I'm not good at ideas.'

'We could all go to the pool or something again,' Sena offered, finally putting her controllers down and turning around to face everyone with her full attention. 'It kind of blew last time we tried, but it's not as warm now, so there's more chance of a successful outing.'

Sena's eyes fell on Rika's face, watching her face turn from a heated blush to a pale green at the memory of being cramped in the bus last summer.

'Rika would like to wait just a little longer before making a trip to _that_ pool again, Sena-senpai...' Rika trailed, looking a little sheepish at her confession. 'What if we go to a cafe for coffee or something instead?'

This time it was Yukimura's turn to look sour, as her mouth turned downwards at the thought of someone else making a nicer cup of tea made her bottom lip tremble.

'What if we think of a few things tonight, and each bring them back tomorrow and pitch them.' Kodaka said, after glancing at Yukimura's pale face close to breaking point. 'We can decide then what we should do.'

The three girls nodded in unison, as the school's bell gave a harmonious ring, signalling that dusk was soon to fall. Yukimura gathered and washed the dishes as the others began to pack up their belongings. Kodaka checked his phone one more time, and while he knew that there would be nothing new, he couldn't help the small pang of sadness fall in his heart. They bid their goodbyes to one another, and before Kodaka had stepped through the doorway, he felt a small tug on his shoulder.

'Hey Kodaka, can I talk to you for a second?' Sena asked, slipping her manicured nails from his shoulder.

'Sure Sena,' Kodaka said, turning back to her, his book bag still slung over his shoulder. 'What's up?'

'Well, I, uh...' Sena stammered, suddenly looking at the floor as a soft blush began to creep over her cheeks. 'I was wondering if...' she trailed off.

'What is it?' Kodaka probed, dropping his arm to his side and looking intently at her vibrant sapphire eyes. 'Is everything okay?'

Sena bit her lip and tented her fingers, still avoiding his gaze. She then swallowed hard and met his gaze with a newfound courage.

'I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date?' she asked, the words almost tumbling out of her mouth with a speed she hadn't expected. 'Like, this Saturday? I'll come by your place to pick you up and we can go somewhere. And by pick you up, I mean you can take me to a restaurant and we'll have dinner and maybe find something else to do afterwards.'

Kodaka blanched at this sudden outward request, and looked away from the blonde; his own cheeks betraying him with their own shade of pink. He scratched the side of his head again, while the self-proclaimed goddess started at him intently.

'Forgive me if I'm wrong,' Kodaka blushed. 'But isn't the guy meant to ask the girl out? That's the way it always is in those games you play.'

'That's normally how it goes,' Sena griped. 'But I'm asking you because I got sick of waiting for you to ask me! You never take control of anything, Kodaka.'

'I can take control of things just fine! What makes you think I wanted to ask you in the first place?' Kodaka retorted, only to find that a very taken-aback Sena in front of him. Suddenly his stomach dropped and in an instant he knew that he had said the wrong thing. He had actually been thinking a lot about this, and the betrothal their parents had given them when they were too young to remember. What he had meant to say was that, while he had thought about it and even been enticed by the idea of dating Sena at times, there was a dynamic of the Neighbours Club he was afraid to disrupt as a cause of it.

'Wait, what I mean is-'

'Don't bother.' Sena said, tearing away from him in a huff before he could explain himself. She pushed past him roughly into the hallway before stopping with her back towards him.

'I'd have thought that after everything, after all this time...you'd maybe consider me as an option. I've waited for you to tell me how you feel since I laid out my feelings for you all those months ago. I'd like an answer, even if it isn't the one I want to hear.'

Without a second glance, she stormed off, leaving Kodaka with a heavy stone in his gut and feeling smaller than ever.

* * *

Kodaka lay between the sheets in his double bed, hands laced behind his head in his mismatched dirty blonde hair and running over what happened in his head. It was one in the morning, and he had remained in this position for a few hours. For a long time now, he'd been contemplating whether or not to grow those feelings of attraction for the Kashiwazaki girl that occasionally flitted between his mind and his heart. Sena was beautiful, and she knew it, but Kodaka got easily irritated at her sense of self-worth and judgemental attitude. Around all of these things though, was a girl who had indeed been honest and open with him previously, and she herself had grown to like him for his personality, rather than make a judgement on appearance only like the rest of the school had done. There were also the few nights when he felt guilty for focussing on her physical appearance; her athletic physique complimented by her blessings of a voluptuous set of breasts, while also having had the opportunity to witness all of her natural beauty on at least two separate occasions, and these images floated to his mind in the depths of the night, which caused a stir in his groin. After all, it was only natural for a male of his age to begin to delve into these erotic thoughts, but the guilt only came after the deed was done. Sena had (unwillingly) given Kodaka access to her body, while also (willingly) giving him her heart while he, however, had kept her on a perpetual string of uncertainty and confusion. A lot of this had to do with his relationship with Yozora, as he attempted to rebuild the connection they had once shared; but now that she had removed herself of her own accord, what was stopping him now?

He stared at the roof of his bedroom for a few more minutes before swiping up his phone without hesitation. He flicked through his small contact list until he rested on _Kashiwazaki Sena_ , and clicked for a new message. His fingers typed under their own heed, and before long he had sent a new text message without even considering the hour of night it was:

 _Saturday night, my house. 6pm, wear something semi-formal. You'll look lovely in anything. Don't be late._


	2. Chapter 2

'So what did everybody come up with?' Kodaka questioned the next afternoon after he had strolled into the Neighbours Club and settled his book bag down by the table. 'I managed to think of a few things this morning...something kept me up a little last night.'

He stole a quick glance across the table to Sena, and watched the tips of her ears turn a brief crimson while she kept the rest of her face hidden behind the screen of a laptop. If she was playing one of her ero-games, she'd have had large headphones containing the smut to herself, but she was playing a basic slice-of-life game with the sound down low. At this point, she would have preferred to have been hidden within the confines of her headphones, for her blush would have been concealed, but she hadn't thought to bring them today.

'I thought perhaps we could go to for karaoke again, senpai' Rika suggested. 'Rika knows how much you liked seeing her lick the microphone shaft up and down last time.' Rika gave Kodaka a suggestive glance and looked him up and down.

'You know that's a lie, Rika,' Kodaka said bluntly, watching her drop her head in defeat. 'But I did have a lot of fun the last time we went. I wouldn't mind doing that again.'

'I, too, had a lot of fun there.' Yukimura concurred, with her soft voice. 'We could go back to the amusement park, maybe?'

'That was pretty expensive though, wasn't it?' Kodaka thought, remembering that the only way they managed to get there the first time was through Sena.

'I could ask Daddy if we really wanted to go back there,' Sena said, closing her laptop with a little snap. 'But he probably wouldn't be too keen on shelling out for it again so soon.'

All of the club members groaned in acceptance.

'There is this one thing that happens a lot in the games I play.' Sena said quietly. 'They're called a sleepover, and it's when people with friends all gather at one person's house and they play games and have food and do other stuff.'

'Oh Rika's heard of those!' Rika piped up, with newfound vigour. 'There's a whole cult of games that people like to play, like "Truth or Dare" and "Seven Minutes in Heaven", and usually-' Rika swung another seductive look at pseudo-delinquent. ' There's a lot of touching each other in the middle of the night.'

Sena paled at the thought.

'I don't think Daddy will be overly accepting of... _that_ , but I'm sure he would be okay with having a get together at mine. If we all agree on it, I can ask him.'

The girls all nodded enthusiastically at the idea, while Kodaka sat silently lost in his own thoughts. He had been to Sena's house on at least two separate occasions; one of them being much more of an exhibition than anticipated. He tried to shoo away the signs his body was giving him as the memory rippled into his mind's eye of Sena's naked form parading in front of him, because if Rika ever caught any hint of arousal, she'd do everything in her arsenal to take advantage of it. Still, the thought of them all hanging out in a group outside of the clubroom, and he was up for that.

'What did you think of, Aniki?' Yukimura's soft voice snapped him out of his reverie.

'Oh, right.' Kodaka mumbled, shaking his head lightly. 'Well, they've just finished building an arcade near the train station. That seemed like a lot of fun.'

'What a great suggestion, Aniki, as always!' Yukimura gushed. 'I wish that we could try them at once.'

'Well, what if we mixed them together?' Rika suggested with a large grin on her face. 'We could go to the arcade during the day, and then meet up at Sena-senpai's house for the evening. It'd be a good experiment to see how we'd fare when we find friends.'

'That sounds pretty fun.' Sena agreed, starting to join in with more of the conversation. 'We could all show off our skills in the arcade, which, obviously I'd win, but it'd be fun to keep partying at mine.'

'When did we want to do it?' Rika asked. 'Would Saturday work for everyone?'

'No!' Sena blurted out, quickly trying to back pedal from her outburst. 'I mean...I just have something really important to do then...' She blushed harshly with embarrassment. 'Can we maybe do the week after?'

'Rika has nothing planned.'

'I, too, am available, especially if Aniki is okay with it.'

'Sounds great. Let's message each other later to confirm it all.'

That evening after Kodaka had returned home from gathering groceries for the week, he found himself having to comfort his little sister Kobato during the midst of her own crisis. When he walked in the door, he found her sitting and watching her favourite series, _Full Metal Necromancer_ ; although, at least she had the television playing and the sound up to its normal blare, but she wasn't paying it any heed. Instead, she kept her eyes down and absorbed into a piece of paper she had clutched in her hands along with her stuffed patchwork bunny.

'Hey Kobato, is everything alright?' Kodaka asked, dropping the bag of groceries on their Western-decor table. Kobato didn't respond, while the characters on screen duked it out intensely amid flashes of colour and angry grunts. Kodaka switched off the television, but his pig-tailed sister still paid him no mind.

'Hey, Kobato, what's the matter? What have you got there?'

'An-chan... I... I...' stammered Kobata. 'I have a...party invitation.' Her voice became inaudible.

'A what?'

'A...party...invitation...'

'Kobato, you need to speak-'

'I have a darn cockadoodie party invitation!' She burst out, thrusting the paper into her brother's face and running off into down the hallway into her bedroom.

Kodaka watched his little sister tear up to her bedroom before looking down at the wrinkled paper. It was a black and white piece of paper adorned with balloons and confetti. Apparently, a girl in named Ritsu from Kobato's class had given her an invitation for her birthday. Kodaka sighed before turning off the television and then knocking on her door.

'Kobato, listen-'

'Go away, An-chan. I don't want to go.' Kobato's voice was muffled.

'I'm coming in whether you like it or not.'

The door pushed open with a small creak, and Kodaka sat on the edge of the bed. Kobato had run in and thrown herself face down onto her pillow. She was still clutching her rabbit as the frills from her Lolita dress surrounded her like a soft blanket.

'Kobato,' Kodaka pressed softly. 'Tell me why you don't want to go this.'

'Because.' She replied flatly into her pillow still.

'That's not an answer, you know.' He retorted with half-closed lids.

'It's...it's...' she muffled.

'Look at me when you're talking to me.'

Kobato raised her blonde head, a terrible pout twisted on her mouth.

'It's because I'm afraid that they won't like me.' She whispered, dropping her gaze afterwards.

Kodaka knew that feeling all too well. For as long as he could remember, people had judged him on appearance alone without giving him the time of day to actually get to know him. He would often wonder how his dad was so well liked and successful on his own, since he had inherited his father's stern appearance. To add to it, his mixed hair colour was his mother's biological gift to him, which only further cemented the distaste people held for him, since it made him look like a thug.

'Well, you seemed pretty popular at school when we went to go see your film...what was it? " _Princess Kobato_ "?'

'Don't call me that.' She bit at him harshly.

'That being said,' he ignored and pressed on. 'Did everybody in the class get an invitation, or did only a select amount?'

'...'

'Answer me.'

'...only a few...'

'Well, you should take that as a compliment. If not everybody has an invitation, then that must mean they like you in some way.'

'But I'm not allowed to access the Akashi Records for tests or-'

She gulped before pressing on.

'-be myself.'

There was a lot more pressure on Kobato than Kodaka had originally thought. He looked at the invitation again and noticed something else that gave him an idea.

'It says here that it's a costume party. You've practically got this covered.'

'What do you mean, An-chan?'

'You practically dress up every day when you're not at school. You don't need anything new, and you won't be uncomfortable wearing something else. If anyone asks what you're from, you can talk to them about your show.'

'I guess...'

'Kobato, I really think that you should consider going. I don't want you to throw away a chance to maybe make a friend. Isn't that what you joined the Neighbour's Club for?'

'...do you think I should?'

Kodaka placed his hand on her head and pat it slowly, a warm smile on his face.

'I think it's the right thing to do. I'll even help you pick out a present for you when we go shopping.'

'Really?'

Suddenly, her eyes lit up.

'Can I get something too, An-chan?!'

Kodaka blanched a little.

'Er, yeah okay. But only if you promise that you'll go.'

'Okay! Ku-ku-ku...' she laughed, putting her left hand over her left eye in a peace sign.

'Oh my other half, you're truly worthy of being in my presents.'

'It's "presence" and you're welcome. Now wash up for dinner.'

'A hot bath will be the perfect offering for this member of the Night Tribe-'

'Yeah okay, your Darkness. I'm putting this on your desk, so don't lose it okay. You're going to need it for ...eh?'

 _Saturday._

After dinner, Kodaka retreated to his bedroom, once again laying facing up at the ceiling with his hands laced behind his head, when suddenly his phone buzzed next to him.

 _I was going to talk to you after Club today, but I was 1000 points away from unlocking Yukiko's bunny outfit, so I figured that was more important (-.-)-_

Naturally, a text like that had to have been sent from Sena.

 _-but I wanted to ask you, what made you change your mind last night? (^.^)._

Kodaka sighed and let his fingers glide over the keypad.

 _[I hadn't exactly changed my mind. You never let me explain.]_

A few moments passed before the next text came through.

 _No, you totally said that you didn't want to go out with me.._

[ _You just assumed I was going to ask you out.]_

...

 _Well...weren't you? :(_

If he was being honest with himself, Kodaka had been toying with the idea of asking Sena out for a few months, but he had constantly weighed it against whether it was worth risking the Neighbour's Club for something so selfish. He liked all of the girls, but there was something about her that made him feel both at peace and at war inside. They could spend time together and she'd give him this vibe of being in his element; but when he looked at her, genuinely admired her, it sent his heart beating with such intensity that he thought it would rip through his being.

But that wasn't the answer she was looking for.

[ _I had been planning on it, but there were some things I had to think about.]_

...

 _So is Saturday just to make me happy?_

...

[ _No. I want to see where we go.]_

...

 _You know, I'm really excited for it. You're not like other guys, Kodaka._

...

 _I think you're special *heart*_

Kodaka's heart gave a little flip at the last message, and he couldn't help but let his lips turn into a soft smile and the glow from his heart course through him.

Where did he even begin to tell her what he felt?


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey there. Remember how I said that I'd give you an update in November? Haaaaaa, sorry about that. Life has been a whirlwind. THANKFULLY, I'm happy to say that here is the complete chapter 3, and I am currently working on fixing up the next one. Hope you like it, sorry it took so long, and I should have the next one up...soon! Thanks for sticking around, and please leave a review or something if you like. Next chapter is a big one!**

 **Tiny-Breegull.**

* * *

Friday had flown by faster than Kodaka could comprehend the world around him. He remembered attending school and feeling the usual stares and whispers around him. He remembered going to the Neighbours Club after the bell rang, but he didn't remember what exactly happened in there. Perhaps he had lost himself in the graphic novel he was reading, but there was a blank spot in his memory what happened between his goodbyes to his club mates and this morning when his alarm went off; jerking him from his deep sleep of inky black. Groggily, Kodaka pulled himself from his sheets and stumbled to the bathroom for a shower to wash the sleep from his skin and wake himself up more. He stepped out a few moments later feeling much more refreshed and energised than before, and wrapped a towel around his hips before traipsing back to his room to get dressed. His calendar on the wall had Saturday's date marked with a red marker so he wouldn't forget its importance; not that he ever would since his stomach was performing a trapeze routine with his heart.

Saturday had finally come in full force and Kodaka felt mostly prepared for it, but he couldn't shake the fears that had built up in his mind. What if his plans backfired or the night failed to produce anything good from it? He scolded himself for thinking these types of thoughts as he dressed in a casual blue sweatshirt and khaki slacks. After all, he had much more important things to attend to before anything about this afternoon could begin. He had promised Kobato that the two would go shopping for a gift for her party that evening before dropping her at the party's address, before he would go food shopping in preparation for tonight's events. He had decided against taking Sena out to a restaurant and opted to cook a three course meal for the two of them instead. This way, he would be able to give himself something to pass the time with during the day while also giving him the chance to show off some more of his personality to her. He hoped that she wouldn't mind this change of plans, but he felt that it would be a better way to begin to get to know each other more. Kodaka pulled out a soft white top, a neat faun fitted shirt and paired them with some dark slacks before laying them over the bed, satisfied with his outfit choice for dinner later. His heart gave another flutter at the thought.

He knocked on the door to Kobato's room and called out to her to see if she was ready.

'Almost!' a small voice chirped back from behind the door.

'Well, don't take too long okay? We've got a lot to do today.'

'Okay!' Kobato called again as he set off into the kitchen to prepare a quick breakfast for the both of them.

"What about this one, An-chan?" Kobato probed, holding up a stuffed rabbit in alternate colours from the one she already owned. 'It's limited edition in blue!'

'Kobato, we're meant to be finding a gift for the party first. Focus on that.' Kodaka sighed, patting his sister on the head.

'But you said I could get something...' Kobato pouted.

'I'm well aware of what I said, but we need to do this first.'

'Fine...'

The two of them walked slowly through the department store, searching for a gift to get Kobato's classmate Ritsu, all the while being jostled from the throngs of other shoppers that crowded the plethora of stores in the mall.

'Umm... what about this?' Kobato asked, holding up a gift box filled with an assortment of bath goods that smelled of sweet, tropical luxuries.

'That's pretty nice.' Kodaka admitted, taking the box from his small sister for a better look. Inside there were a few different bottles of shower gels and body lotions that housed some tangy scents and a small complimentary loofah in a hibiscus orange. Overall, it was quite a sweet package at an affordable price.

'Is this what you want to get her?' Kodaka probed, feeling a flutter of pride at his sister for choosing a gift that wasn't influenced by her interests.

'I couldn't decide between that or the pink one. They both seemed really nice.' Kobato said quietly.

'Hmm...' Kodaka mused, bringing a hand to his chin in thought.

A thought began to brew in Kodaka's mind as he held the gift package. He wondered if it would be worth buying a gift as well to give to Sena tonight, as a means of trying to strengthen their relationship. All of this was unfamiliar territory that he was treading into, and it made his insides twist up a little with unease. It was one thing to not have friends...but a _girlfriend?_ Was this too much too soon?

He shook his head lightly trying to bring himself back to his senses. He could feel multiple sets of eyes burning a hole into his skin, but he was used to it; after all these years of being branded a thug, he could deal with being stared at from wandering eyes.

What he couldn't deal with was whether or not he should commit to buying a gift for tonight. Would that make him come off as too eager? Would Sena judge him for it? Would she enjoy it? All of this was making the knot in his stomach grow larger.

' _Girls are hard,_ ' he finished with a thought.

The Hasegawa household was nothing elaborate or extravagant, but it wasn't the symbol of squalor. A quaint modern household that served as both home to Kodaka and Kobato, although the young gothic Lolita preferred to refer to it as the Castle for the Night Tribe. Being the only two to live within its walls, Kodaka had become domesticated at a young age, and while he kept a neat and tidy household, the kitchen was where he felt the most at peace with himself.

He liked to think of it as his inner sanctum; where the world seemed to slow and his thoughts could take root into physical forms; into cooking, specifically. With his mother gone and his father living overseas, Kodaka had had to learn how to cook more than just cups of instant noodles if he and his sister were going to be able to survive living by themselves. An added bonus of having their father live away from them is that packages of exotic foodstuffs and spices would arrive at their home and it let Kodaka try out new recipes. He'd like to say that all of his creations were successful, but he'd had his fair share of failures.

Something about the way the fragrance of spices danced in the air between the sizzle of a fiery pan gave him a sense of elation in his heart and the feel of a sharp blade cutting effortlessly through juicy meat flesh and crisp vegetables felt so satisfying. He felt an odd sense of victory when each separate ingredient, unique in their own way, came together to blend into something entirely new and impressive. It reminded him of the Neighbours Club, and how different all of the members were but they all came together at the end of the school day to form something special; albeit downright quirky and abnormal to other students.

Kodaka gave a small smile at the thought. All of them had come a long way since the club was first formed, and Kodaka could proudly say that he had made at least one friend as a result of it. Rika Shiguma, in all of her twisted perversion, was a true friend through and through. She was strange, spoke in third person, but her heart was bigger than her vast collection of boy-love and mecha manga. Over the year, Rika and Kodaka formed a bond between each other that was growing stronger by the day, despite her best efforts to get his pudding-head to sleep with her.

It wasn't that Kodaka wasn't interested in sex, but rather, he didn't feel like Rika was the one he wanted to share such an intimate moment with. He believed that it was important to be _in_ a relationship with someone before even thinking about what was underneath their clothing. However, he was a teenager, so it wasn't impossible for him to _completely_ ignore his urges; especially when he'd already seen Sena naked on multiple occasions. His cheeks flushed red from what he hoped was from the steam from the dumplings he was cooking. His face grew hotter as his mind travelled further into the recesses of his personal thoughts until Kobato's voice snapped him out of his erotic reverie of his Neighbours Club clubmate.

'An-chan, I'm ready to go! Hurry up!' she yelled.

'Give me just a minute, Kobato! I'm almost done with this part.' He replied, thankful for the distraction before his groin became too tight.

Setting his tools aside and making sure that the burners were all turned off, Kodaka whipped the apron off around him and breathed a heavy sigh.

In just two hours, his date with Sena would begin.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone, sorry for the delays in the posts. At least I managed to put this one up in the same year, so yay haha. I'm excited to get a lot of this out of the way and I have so much more content coming in the next chapters that will actually, well,** ** _progress_** **the story forward. I know a lot of you have been waiting for that. Anyway, please read on and if you feel so inclined, leave a review. Every little one helps and spurs me on to write more.**

 **All my love x**

 **Tiny-Jesster**

* * *

'Coconut...or rose?'

With a candle in each hand, Kodaka stared dumbfounded and agonised over what one he should put on the table to tie everything together. As good as he was at blending spices and vegetables, he was an amateur when it came to this. Was this something that you just happened to know, or could you learn it?

The candles were part of his father's latest gift to the Hasegawa household, along with new flavours and a few souvenirs from his current excavation site. In truth, the candles were meant for Kobato, but she showed no interest in them so Kodaka had thrown them into a wayward cupboard without a second thought until now. Although, now he was starting to regret his decision to use them, since it seemed impossible to make a decision between the two.

Kodaka's heart was beginning to beat a bruise into his chest. He had spent plenty of time alone with Sena before, so why was he so nervous? It wasn't as if Stella was here to palm off another condom to him or anything, so why did he have to shake at the thought of her being here?

Doubt suddenly welled up in his chest. Were candles even appropriate for the first date? Would it be so bold to question the dim ambiance they give as _too_ forward? A dark house light only by soft candlelight often gave the impression that it wasn't just _dinner_ that would be occurring throughout the course of the evening. Kodaka's eyes began to pinwheel around as uncertainty ran through his mind. Fancy restaurants used candles all the time and only pleasurable dinners and conversation happened in those facilities, so why shouldn't the same be applied to his home?

'Of course,' he mused with a dry laugh over his disbelief. 'Fancy restaurants don't accommodate for...for...'

He swallowed the lump in his throat; hesitant to even say the word despite being home alone with his thoughts.

'They don't accommodate for... _sex_.' he whispered.

Kodaka shook his head, only vaguely aware that the tight grip he held on the scented pillars of wax started to show signs of indents from his hand.

'I shouldn't even be thinking that,' he scolded himself, letting his frustration brew over into a verbal vent.

He was right, though. The first date shouldn't ever lead to vulgar expectations, or at least that's what his father mentioned. He could hear his father's words echoing in his mind, about how you should wait until you are serious with someone before even considering doing the deed.

'That's all well and good Dad,' Kodaka mumbled, finally throwing caution to the wind and putting the rose candle in the centre of the table with a thud and lighting it. 'But you're not even here to even prepare me for this.'

With a sigh, Kodaka put away the runner-up candle back into a cupboard in the living room. Even though he felt that he was a mature young man, there were still a lot of things that he wished his Dad was around for. Girl problems being one of them; _friend_ problems being the majority. It wasn't as if he had a plethora of friends to talk things over with. No guy friends to banter between or bend their ear when he had a problem or when he felt like talking about girls he liked.

He had no one.

Well, no one wasn't _entirely_ true. He had Rika that he could talk to, which she had made abundantly clear about. He could still feel the bruises in some of his pressure points after their spat up on the roof of the school where she had mercilessly pounded him with small, bullet-like ball bearings to knock some sense into him. From that point they had decided to openly refer to each other as friends, and while that filled him with a sense of elation, he didn't feel ready to discuss such matters with her at this time. Besides, Kodaka was acutely aware of the infatuation that Rika had over him, and by bringing this would only damage what fledgling friendship they had built together. He wasn't prepared to give that up. Not after being lonely for so long.

Still, despite his father calling to connect with his children from time to time, it would never truly replace the feeling of having an older male role model to look up to when the chips were down. Sometimes in the dead of night, Kodaka wondered whether or not he genuinely had a childhood, after having to look after Kobato at such a young age. He loved his sister dearly, but there were times he wished that he had his parents to fall back on.

A drop of sadness tainted his heart at the thought of his mother. More than anything, she wished that she was here. She had such a warm grace about her and there was nothing more comforting than one of her hugs. However, since he lost her at such a young age, there were times when Kodaka felt that couldn't remember her face; instead seeing the image of his little sister projected onto his vision when he would dig up lost memories. He would never admit it, but sometimes when he was cloaked in the darkness of night, he would let stray tears fall as he thought of her. He missed his mother so much.

Perhaps that was why he had taken such a liking to Sena. She shared a lot of physical qualities that his mother possessed; her silky blonde hair, her vibrant eyes and a small mouth that could make a man falter with a single pout. Time and time again he'd felt a strange feeling about her that he couldn't quite explain, but it could be that she reminded him of his mother.

Kodaka let out a soft sigh and surveyed his handiwork. Dinner was slowly simmering away while his appetisers were cooked and ready; it was just a matter of warming them up briefly when Sena arrived as dessert chilled in the fridge. A wave of pride washed through him, as he looked at how nicely his table had been set up, and he even managed to scrounge around in the cupboards for the fancy crockery. Neatly folded napkins sat under buffed silverware as the fanciest glassware the Hasegawa's owned shone with a sharp glint from the overhead light. He had stopped by a florist on the way home from dropping Kobato off at her party and bought a small bundle of loose flower petals to sprinkle around the table top for added effect. The small petals left a nice collage of colour dotted about the stark white plates and table cloth that he felt didn't overdo it. It was only his last minute candle dilemma that has caused him such distress which, in hindsight, was a useless waste of emotion.

Wish a quick wash up, a change of clothes and a sprits of cologne, Kodaka sat down on the lounge with a soft _flump_ , painfully watching the hands of his wristwatch tick by. Just ten minutes to go. After all this, he suddenly felt his inside freeze over and panic set in. He had nothing else to do to prepare himself for her arrival, and now nothing to distract himself from the painstaking drawl of the clock. Twiddling his thumbs, he tried to concentrate on breathing to steady his heart rate and collect himself out of a jelly-legged mess he was turning into.

The minutes seemed to drag on until, almost neurotically punctual, the doorbell rang. With sweaty palms and a jilted stagger, Kodaka opened the door to Sena's piercing gaze before his heart leapt.

'Umm, hi Kodaka,' she squeaked, her face flushing red almost immediately, eyes downcast.

'Hey Sena... what's wrong?' he questioned, taken aback at her reaction.

'Eh, it's nothing!' Sena balked, her eyes suddenly clicking on his in a failing attempt at confidence under her embarrassment. 'Just uhh, something Stella said before.'

'Hmm? What did she say?'

'Absolutely nothing of your concern!' Sena said, turning her red face to the sleek, black car out the front of her house. 'Bye Stella, you can go now!'

Kodaka peeked out at the vehicle, taking in the shape of the blonde butler giving Sena a wave before pulling out and disappearing into the night. As he turned back, he saw Sena hastily try and stuff two small foiled packages into her tiny white clutch while he was distracted; a small ladder of blue and black wrappers which Kodaka instantly recognised as the same brand of contraception that Stella had palmed off to him when he last visited, and a tablet sheet of what looked like miniscule aspirin capsules. He said nothing of it and invited her in out of the chill.

'Wow Kodaka, you can certainly dress nicely when you put your mind to it.' Sena chirped, trying to put the last couple of minutes behind her.

'I could say the same about you Sena... but I don't think I've ever seen you _not_ look nice,' Kodaka blushed lightly, scratching his face with his index finger.

His eyes travelled over her body, taking in how her the red dress she was wearing hugged every curve of her figure snugly, complimented by a low-hanging silver necklace that fell perpendicular to the straps of her dress sitting across her arms. The length almost made it sit just above the crevasse of her cleavage. Somehow, her standard blue butterfly hair clip managed to tie in nicely with the whole ensemble, even down to her white heels that gave her a half inch more of height. The sight made his breath catch in his throat and he smiled.

'Oh, thanks,' she smiled, her face turning a shade redder. 'So, where are we going tonight?'

Amazingly, it was as if she hadn't even noticed the dining room at all, despite it being an open-plan house.

'About that, I thought it would be nice to... cook for you tonight.'

'Huh? Really?'

'...yes really.'

'Oh...'

'Is that going to be a problem?'

'Oh, well... no, not if you've taken a lot of effort to plan something. I think it's a sweet gesture, actually.'

Sena beamed a smile at Kodaka which made his heart melt.

'I won't lie, but a lot of me kind of hoped that were going out in public so I could show off my new dress,' Sena admitted, still smiling. 'But I guess you having it all to yourself isn't so bad.'

Sena finished off her statement with a flirtatious wink that Kodaka couldn't help grinning at.

'I guess it really is my lucky day.' He said with a small laugh.

'Well, obviously. Do you know how many guys would let me step all over them just for a chance to even be _considered_ for a date with me?'

'Sorry, but don't even categorise me with those guys.'

'Well... I don't...' Sena faltered, tapping her index fingers together. 'That's why I like you, Kodaka.'

'Kind of funny how that works out, hey?'

'Yeah, it is...'

An awkward silence filled the air between them and both teenagers looked away from each other embarrassed. Thankfully he snapped out of his reverie and motioned for Sena to come sit at the table, pulling the chair out for her.

'Thanks.' She chirped and sat down. Kodaka's eyes caught a glimpse of the outline of a g-string as her dress hugged around her curves as she sat. He steadied himself with a deep breath before his hands shook more. If this is how he felt already ten minutes into the evening, it was going to take a lot more than just a deep breath to get through the evening.

'The place looks great Kodaka!' Sena admired, giving in to the smile on her face as she looked around in wonder. 'Who knew your pudding head could pull this off.'

'I guess it was a hidden talent I had all along,' he joked, taking the other seat and pulling the table cloth up for privacy protection just in case.

'It means so much that you went to so much effort just for me though. I feel so special.'

'Well, you are pretty special, Sena. I had to.'

Sena locked with his eyes and gave him such a sweet smile that he felt his stomach liquefy into a hot puddle inside. It gave him a warm feeling throughout that seemed to make his entire soul glow outward. Compliments were rare for the faux-delinquent, so he savoured every one. If this was just the beginning of the date then maybe, just maybe, he could chalk this up as the best night of his life.

' _The night is young.'_


End file.
